Bangla Tigers got slaughtered
on February 19th, 2011 at 3:43 pmWhen ShakibUl Hassan decided to field first after winning the toss, he must be hoping to shoot Indias mighty batting down within a score of 300. Did he underestimated the Indian batting or over estimated his bowlers?
I think his bowlers let him down gifting many scoring opportunities on a pitch where a little disciplined effort could have brought up better results, I am not taking away any credit from Sehwag and Kohli who just slaughtered the Tigers and took full advantage of any loose deliveries.
The score line of 370 will increase the hyperbole surrounding Indian batting to new heights but at the end of the day the reality is that Bangladesh is still a minnow, their bowling is ordinary they might win one or two matches against teams who can’t play spin but they were never going to pose any serious threat to the Indians.
The Indian team should be proud of scoring @ 7.4 runs per over but at the same time they have conceded runs @ 5.90 runs / over until the 4oth over against a minnow team which should be a major concern for their management.
The mettle of Indian batting will truly be tested against better bowling sides in their group, i.e South Africa, West Indies and England, they will depend a lot on their bowlers to win against teams which won’t allow them to post heavy totals and thats where the problem will begin for India.
PCB
Shoaib Akhtar is physically fit he is only having problem with the seam movement and today he did moved the new ball. It is wrong of the management to publically ridicule their premiere fast bowler the pitches in the world cup are flat and all bowlers will have difficulty in moving the ball.
Pakistan team faces one major problem and that is they are one specialist bowler short, Razzaq can’t bowl and will add pressure on the other bowlers, he is being wasted as a batsman at #8.
In the match against SriLanka the team management will have to make a tough call either they will have to drop, Hafeez or Razzaq to play Ajmal or Wahab.
Pakistan’s chances of winning the match rests with their bowling, playing Razzaq at #8 won’t have a big impact on our batting, so either we will have to play him as a batsman or drop him to play another specialist bowler.
I think Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez have to be more positive when opening. They will not be dropped in a hurry if they fail. Shehzad has shown us his talent and Hafeez is crucial to the balance of the side. Shehzad, Hafeez and Akmal should be looking to score at a SR of a run a ball by playing calculated shots.
Afridi and Razzaq didn’t get to bat long, but this is Kenya they were facing.
I don’t think there are politics going on. Misbah has been in good form, but he and Umar akmal have to bat at 5 and 6. The other 4 batters are top order players. Kamran could move down the order, but he is more effective in powerplays and with the new ball. I personally think the batting order is fine in its current order.
About Akhtar, you cannot compare his fitness levels with Gul. Gul has been playing all formats since Australia matches in England, which is a lot. If you have been to watch any game recently, you will have noticed Akhtar is quite sluggish in the field and looks like he is limping. Gul has always been said to be one of the fittest by the physios and trainers. I think when they make the statements, they are asked about it and so give a response. But they always are positive about him, and if they opposition do not fear him, then more fool them because he is a bowler who can produce magic out of nowhere.
Kenya are 112/9. Except for Netherlands none of the minnow teams have impressed. Pakistan have won by 205 runs.
Great athleticism by Afridi just missed a caught and bowl chance could have been one of the greatest catches of all time.
A five wicket haul for Afridi. Great bowling his variety was a bit too much to handle for the hapless Kenyans.
Pakistan managed to cross 300 in the end thanks to Kenya who gave away 45 extras. The openers failed for Pakistan, YK and Akmal set the platform but once again both players failed to accelerate, Misbah and Umar Akmal played good knocks but once again Pakistan failed to utilize Afridi and Razzaq, if these two won’t play 10 overs between them it would not be possible for Pakistan to post big totals against good teams.
Pakistan should have promoted Razzaq up the order against this weak team to provide him with match practice he hasn’t gotten a decent opportunity to bat since last 4-5 matches.
Pakistan will win this match quite comfortably Afridi has taken 3 wickets all the bowlers except Razzaq looked good, Shoaib bowled within himself and didn’t generated full pace but also didn’t gave away too many runs.
Pakistan’s next match is against SriLanka, the match against SriLanka will set the tone of Pakistan’s campaign for the world cup.
Dirty politics is back in Pakistan team. I just read that the management has decided to promote Umar Akmal ahead of Misbah, the logic given is that the team management doesn’t want Misbah and Younis Khan to bat together as both players are accused of batting slowly.
Since the series against South Africa Misbah has been the best batsman for Pakistan, pushing him further down the order will definitely affect his performance as his batting style is not suitable for the last 10-15 overs. All the teams deliberately make their in form batsmen bat higher but just because Misbah is a threat for Afridi he is being pushed lower down the order.
Another thing which I find strange is the statements made by the captain and the management about the form of Shoaib Akhtar. Even if Shoaib is half fit there is absolutely no need to make public statements about his fitness. Gul has also not been fully fit but nobody has ever talked about his form, besides whats the point in down playing the form of your premiere fast bowler and taking the fear away from your opposition. Absolutely stupid in my opinion and I think Waqar is taking out his grudge against Shoaib.
Both moves are extremely stupid and in my opinion a ploy to disrupt the balance of Pakistan team.
Watching these associate nations play is much more agonizing than watching the worst domestic team in Pakistan. Even Zimbabwe couldn’t put up a fight against Australia.
I also agree with PCB that except for Zimbabwe and Ireland the rest of the Associate teams are not ready for the big stage. ICC should do more to help these nations to get ready for the big stage by holding coaching sessions at it’s academy in Dubai.
I’m not sure theres any point in including teams only for them to get thrashed. I can see why Zimbabwe and Ireland are included, but teams like Kenya seem hopeless.
It makes the world cup less exciting. There should be more matches between major teams. There should be a premlinary qualifying stage for the best few associate teams to qualify.
Wasim,
I know what you mean, but the other smaller teams need to use these games to learn too and not get overawed. I think if their coaches have anything about them, they will.
I’m always for being inclusive but the way that Canada, Kenya have been beat, you would have to ask if it’s worth including them. in major tournaments.
Stani
I think the weaker teams will get further scared of the Indian team after this match whereas the stronger teams might have learned a lot from Australia Vs India match and this match.
Yes, completely agree Wasim. India need to be very careful and put this result in context. Bangladesh made 283 ad that is no small score. A top batting line up would have got even more closer.
The point you make about a bit more discipline in their bowling bringing results is a very important one. It’s just like the effect singles have on a total when batting. Each ball of good line and length, or conversely, each single, by themselves don’t have much effect but at the end of the innings it makes all the difference. If you go all out trying for wickets on unsuitable pitches, or for boundaries on bowling tracks, you will just implode. The match will be out of reach before you know it. That’s what happened with Bangladesh.